[QUOTE="jg4xchamp"]
[QUOTE="AdobeArtist"]
It is true that games are an interactive medium, which should as JG said, be the driving force behind the story telling which you can't get from film. But let's not forget that video games are also a visual and artistic medium - the "video" in the games.
So why shouldn'twe want to see the presentation of the story and world advance in cinematic ways? When done right it enhances our interactivity by making it so much more immersive. In fact as a medium it not only encompasses art & visuals, and interaction, but out of its infancy (from those by gone arcade days) has grown to become a new form of story telling. A part of the equation that should not be forsaken.
What truly distinguishes games from film as a story telling medium, is that in film the screen is a barrier that seperates the viewer from events we can only passively observe, whereas in games the screen is our doorway to events that we get immersed in and become a part of through our avatar. And this is augmented by fleshed out and polished presentation that translates as the "cinematic" experience, just as good art direction in movies has us engrossed in its story.
As long as the interaction and the presentation work in tandem, and not clash with one another, gaming continues to become a more and more engaging experience for us. The two need not collide in a zero sum manner.
On the flip side while old school games (from PacMan, to Centipede, Missle Command, and even games of the 8bit era like Mario and the original Zelda) may be "pure" as a form of gaming, they can never achieve the heights of immersion we have today. I see no reason to sacrifice immersion for the sake of "gameyness" when it can enhance the gaming experience in ways old titles could never realize.
AdobeArtist
Except in large cases it doesn't add in immersion as much as it creates a disconnect between game and story. Like I said, cinemtic presentation enhancing the immersion of the gameplay hinges on the designers implementing it properly, that the two elements (presentation and interactivity) don't get in the way of each other. When done right, where the visual presentation dynamically complements the players actions, it really immerses them in the experience.
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